October 16, 2022

A roundup of local and international news.

Newsroom, 16.10.2022, 14:00

Gas. Romania
has 2.801 billion cubic metres of gas in storage, amounting to a filling level
of 90.9% of its entire storage capacity, said the national operator Transgaz.
The 80% minimum mandatory level of gas in storage facilities established under
a European Commission regulation was reached by Romania on 17th
September. The president of the European Commission Ursula
von der Leyen said in September that the European Union’s joint storage levels
were at 84%. Our friends in the Baltics have worked hard to end their
dependency on Russia. They have invested in renewable energy, in LNG terminals,
and in interconnectors. This costs a lot. But dependency on Russian fossil
fuels comes at a much higher price. We have to get rid of this
dependency all over Europe. Therefore we agreed on joint
storage. We are at 84% now: we are overshooting our target, said von der Leyen.

Nuclear.
Unit no. 1 of the nuclear power plant in Cernavodă,
in south-eastern Romania, will be shut down in a controlled manner in order to
carry out repair works, according to a statement from the Nuclearelectrica
National Company. The controlled shutdown, says Nuclearelectrica, has no impact
on nuclear safety, the environment, the personnel and the population. After the
completion of the works, the unit will be reconnected to the national power
grid. Nuclearelectrica accounts for 20% of the country’s energy output, with
two reactors in operation at Cernavodă.

Ukraine.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr
Zelensky said in his usual midnight address on Saturday that the situation was
the most difficult for Ukrainian troops near the eastern town of Bakhmut, but
that Ukraine was holding its positions. This comes after the Russian-backed
separatist forces in the Donetsk region said they seized two villages near
Bakhmut, Opytine and Ivangrad. Bakhmut, a town with 70,000 inhabitants before
the war started, has been under constant shelling from the Russian troops for
months. In another development, at least 11 people were killed and 15 wounded
in a shootout at a military training base in the Russian region of Belgorod,
near the border with Ukraine. The Russian defence ministry says the attack was
committed by two citizens of one of the countries in the Commonwealth of
Independent States, an organisation bringing together some of the former Soviet
republics. Advisor to Ukraine’s president Oleksiy Arestovych said the attackers were from Tajikistan
and opened fire on the others after an argument over religion. Tajikistan is a
majority Muslim country, while most Russians identify as Orthodox Christians.

Refugees. According to the Border Police, almost 9,000 Ukrainians entered
Romania on Saturday, up 1.46% compared with the previous day. From 10th
February, two weeks before the Russian invasion, almost 2.6 million Ukrainians
have crossed into the neighbouring Romania. Most of them continued their
journey to western Europe, but, according to the interior ministry, 4,300 have
requested and received asylum in Romania and are enjoying all the rights laid
down in the national legislation. 70,000 others have stay permits, enjoying
temporary protection.

Handball.
The Romanian women’s handball vice-champions CSM Bucharest are today facing the
Czech side DHK Banik Most in a Champions League Group A match. CSM haven’t lost
any of their four matches played so far, with three wins and a draw. On
Saturday, in Group B, the Romanian champions CS Rapid Bucharest drew 30-all against
Buducnost Podgorica in an away match in Montenegro. Still undefeated after five
legs, with three wins and two draws, Rapid are in the top position in their
group. Bucharest is the only European capital with two clubs in the group stage
of the most important club-level competition in European women’s handball. (CM)